Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Abdul Karim Al-Humaid, spokesman of the Ministry of Culture, said that more than 800 persons, representing various segments of Saudi society, participated in the first Industrial Heritage Competition. The entries are now being screened and evaluated after ending the deadline for submission of entries and the names of winners will be announced by the end of November.

The participants monitored industrial heritage sites in different regions of the Kingdom, and these sites range from factories, stations and historical buildings related to the heritage industry. Al-Humaid said there was a tremendous response from the public, which was highlighted by the Ministry of Culture for the first time in the history of the Kingdom. The ministry attaches great interest in documenting the national heritage in their diverse tangible and intangible manifestations.

The spokesman said competent committees in the ministry are currently working on sorting out the entries in preparation for picking the best them in accordance with the conditions set by the ministry on its website, which defined the concept of industrial heritage and the conditions of classification and quality of heritage sites that fall under this category.

The ministry had identified three tracks to participate in the competition to document the patterns of heritage that contributed to the Kingdom’s industrial development such as buildings, factories and machinery. The first track, titled “Discovery challenge,” includes the discovery of industrial heritage sites and documenting them through pictures or video, while the second track, titled “Story challenge,” involves the recording of stories related to industrial heritage sites, while the third track “Documentation challenge,” includes the preparation of an integrated research about an industrial heritage.

The ministry’s keenness in supporting and documenting the industrial heritage comes from the belief in the symbolic value of the history of the industrial establishments that contributed to the Kingdom’s economic development. It is worth mentioning that the ministry is currently organizing three different cultural competitions: Popular folklore competition; competition of light for film support, and industrial heritage competition, in addition to other initiatives that target national talent and provide training, empowerment and participation in various creative fields.